Germany Part III: Munich Day 2 (part 2)

Our last evening in Munich was one of food and spirits!

We took advice from my boss who is German, and encouragement from Jens and Marija and decided to go to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. The Hofbräuhaus is a huge restaurant located in the city center which is a major tourist destination. It has multiple floors, large rooms and court yards each sporting a very festive and traditional Bavarian atmosphere. We had discussed where we were going to go for a while. Kate and Marija both wanted to avoid the traditional German sausage, but we also needed to get another truly "German meal" under our belts (literally and figuratively). The Hofbräuhaus did not disappoint. I thought the food (und das Bier...) were excellent. It was my second favorite meal after Jens and Marija's home cooked spread that they prepared for us in Nürnberg. Kate and I both had roast pork dinners which were tender and delicious. It came with bread and potato dumplings. The potato dumplings had an interesting texture, but were very tasty. The bread dumplings were our favorite of the two. They essentially were "stuffing balls".

"Roasted pork with potato and bread dumpling, bacon cabbage salad (2) (3) 2 8,20 euro."
The cabbage salad was essentially cole slaw with the added bonus of meat. I had also ordered a bretzel (pretzel) and the "Bavarian Soup". The prices were really reasonable for the food that you got. Sadly I can't remember what Marija ordered because I took too long to write all of this up. Truthfully I should have been taking notes when I got back to the hotel room in the evening. Jens had

"Roasted pork knuckle with potato dumpling & cabbage salad (2) (3) 2 9,90 euro."

The "knuckle" as it is called is actually a joint or knee from the pig, and it is a big piece of meat on the bone. I'm not certain what the numbers in parentheses from the menu represent, I was thinking quantity, but I'm unsure.

Anyway while we ate, a man and woman in traditional Bavarian garb played the trumpet and accordion and sang old German songs. The patrons, many of whom were jovially intoxicated clapped and sang along. As tourists, Kate and I enjoyed it all, Marija rolled her eyes and Jens sort of smirked and tolerated it for this special occasion.

I invite people to check out the link for the Hofbräuhaus and look at the pictures, the history, and the menu. It is a beautiful building and restaurant which seems to be forever bustling with people enjoying the moment.

After eating we walked around a bit. in Munich. I snapped the photo of this rather elaborate gate, however it is very dark so not very much can be seen. There is a dust particle on the upper right side or an "orb" which some superstitious people tend to believe are "spirits" captured on film. If that is true, there are way too many "spirits" floating around in my apartment currently and I really need to exorcise some of them.

We decided to go out for another few drinks before calling it a night. We went to a place called "Bohne & Malz am Stachus" which if you didn't figure it out by the similarity means "Bean and malt in the Stachus". The "Stachus" is mentioned in the "Munich day 1" entry is the large fountain where Kate and I had our picture taken by an American tourist.

As the evening progressed we realized it would soon be time to part ways. Jens and Marija needed to get back home early the next day because it was Jens's dad's birthday. We were sad to part ways and I promised to show them as good of a time when and if they come visit the United states. They'll be a place to stay in Boston, and I'll be a guide to show them some of many beautiful and interesting sights around that make me happy to live in New England. (Did I mention the seafood?)

Before we went back to our hotels and bid each other farewell I requested that Jens and I have a photo taken of us together. Considering some of the photos I have from college where we were pretty much always goofing off, this pose on these plastic, chrome lions seemed entirely appropriate. The amusing thing was that we started a fad that evening. I'm sure the idea was far from original, but for whatever reason, the various intoxicated tourists did not seem to pay the big shiny lions much interest, however once we did it people were lining up.

Kate and I looked at each other after we parted ways with our friends and hosts. We recognized with some sadness that we only had one day left in Germany, however aware, that we will cherish these memories for years to come.